(2) Receive and spend, pursuant to the purposes of this chapter, moneys in the form
of gifts, bequests, state appropriations, state or private grants or federal grants;

(3) Establish a state-wide toll-free telephone information and referral system for
persons with disabilities for referral of such persons to appropriate public or private
agencies or services. Such information and referral system may be coordinated with the
Governor's state-wide information bureau or any other existing information and referral
services;

(4) Receive and investigate complaints from persons with disabilities, parents or
guardians of such persons or in writing from any other interested person, act as an
advocate for any person with a disability and initiate or fund legal actions to protect the
rights of any person with a disability;

(5) Request and receive information, including personal data, concerning a person
with a disability from any state or private agency, with the consent of such person with
a disability, or the parent or guardian of such person, as appropriate. With respect to a
developmentally disabled adult who has no guardian or whose guardian is an employee
of the Department of Mental Retardation, the director may request and receive such
information only if:

(A) A request for advocacy services has been made on such person's behalf;

(B) Such person does not indicate refusal to give consent to receipt of the information by the director;

(C) Such person resides in a facility for developmentally disabled persons, including
any institution, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-490, or has been placed in a
boarding home, group home or other residential facility pursuant to section 17a-277;

(D) Such person has received an explanation of the manner in which any information
obtained concerning such person will be used by the advocacy office;

(E) Such person has received an explanation of such person's right to refuse to allow
the director to request or receive such information; and

(F) The director has documented the director's conscientious efforts to provide the
required explanations and verified that the developmentally disabled person has not
indicated refusal to give consent;

(6) Coordinate and cooperate with other private and public agencies concerned with
the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the rights of persons with disabilities and enter into cooperative agreements with public or private agencies for furtherance
of the rights of persons with disabilities;

(7) Represent, appear, intervene in or bring an action on behalf of any person with
a disability or class of persons, with the consent of such person or the parent or legal
guardian of such person, in any proceeding before any court, agency, board or commission in this state in which matters related to this chapter are in issue;

(8) Implement, with the approval of the individual using a service provided by the
advocacy office, a case follow-up system;

(9) Research and identify the needs of persons with disabilities and programs and
services available to meet those needs;

(10) Develop and maintain a program of public education and information, such
program to include, but not be limited to, education of the public concerning the needs
and rights of persons with disabilities, in cooperation with existing state and private
agencies, an outreach effort to discover persons with disabilities in need of assistance
or an advocate and provisions for a class or group advocacy service;

(11) Develop and maintain an individual advocacy service for persons with disabilities which shall investigate referred problems or complaints;

(12) Receive, review and make such recommendations as he deems appropriate on
applications for waivers from the requirements of the State Building Code, submitted
by the State Building Inspector pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of section
29-269; and

(13) Ensure that all aspects of agency operations conform to federally established
protection and advocacy requirements for program independence and authority, including:

(A) Structural independence from other agencies which provide services to people
with disabilities;

(B) Authority to pursue legal and administrative remedies on behalf of persons with
disabilities;

(C) Authority to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect of persons with disabilities who receive care, treatment or services;

(D) Authority to access persons who are residents of facilities or clients of services
systems, and with appropriate consent, to access such residents' records concerning
care, treatment or services;

(E) Authority to educate policy makers, consumers and members of the public about
issues affecting persons with disabilities;

(F) Authority to reach out to members of traditionally underserved populations; and

(G) Authority to develop an annual statement of priorities and objectives and to
solicit public comment and input on such process.

History: P.A. 78-351 added Subdiv. (12) empowering director to make recommendations re applications for waivers
from requirements of article 21 of state building code; P.A. 86-285 amended Subdiv. (5) by making a technical change
and permitted the director to request and receive information on a developmentally disabled adult under certain conditions
enunciated in new Subparas. (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F); P.A. 88-356 and 88-364 amended Subdiv. (12) to delete
reference to "article 21" of state building code; P.A. 94-87 changed reference from handicapped persons to persons with
disabilities; P.A. 03-88 added new Subdiv. (13) requiring director to ensure that agency operations conform with federal
requirements for program independence and authority; P.A. 04-257 made technical changes in Subdiv. (5), effective June
14, 2004; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subdiv. (5)(B), effective July 13, 2005.

(b) Such report shall contain the name and address of the allegedly abused or neglected person, a statement from the person making the report indicating his belief
that such person is mentally retarded, information supporting the supposition that such
person is substantially unable to protect himself from abuse or neglect, information
regarding the nature and extent of the abuse or neglect and any other information which
the person making such report believes might be helpful in an investigation of the case
and the protection of such person with mental retardation.

(c) Each facility, as defined in section 46a-11a, shall inform residents of their rights
and the staff of their responsibility to report abuse or neglect and shall establish appropriate policies and procedures to facilitate such reporting.

(d) Any other person having reasonable cause to believe that a person with mental
retardation is being or has been abused or neglected may report such information, in
any reasonable manner, to the director or to his designee.

(e) Any person who makes any report pursuant to sections 46a-11a to 46a-11g,
inclusive, or who testifies in any administrative or judicial proceeding arising from such
report shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability on account of such report or
testimony, except for liability for perjury, unless such person acted in bad faith or with
malicious purpose. Any person who obstructs, hinders or endangers any person reporting
or investigating abuse or neglect or providing protective services or who makes a report
in bad faith or with malicious purpose and who is not subject to any other penalty shall
be fined not more than five hundred dollars. No resident or employee of a facility, as
defined in section 46a-11a, shall be subject to reprisal or discharge because of his actions
in reporting pursuant to sections 46a-11a to 46a-11g, inclusive.

(f) For purposes of said sections, the treatment of any person with mental retardation
by a Christian Science practitioner, in lieu of treatment by a licensed practitioner of the
healing arts, shall not of itself constitute grounds for the implementation of protective
services.

(g) When the director of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with
Disabilities or persons designated by such director are required to investigate or monitor
abuse or neglect reports that are referred to the Office of Protection and Advocacy for
Persons with Disabilities from another agency, all provisions of this section shall apply
to any investigation or monitoring of such case or report.

History: P.A. 84-514 effective February 1, 1985; P.A. 86-285 applied provisions to cases of suspected neglect, deleted
in Subsec. (a) the requirement that the facility serve mentally retarded persons, deleted requirement in Subsec. (d) that
report be written and added in Subsec. (e) a provision that a person may be fined for obstructing, hindering or endangering
any person reporting or investigating abuse and neglect or providing protective services; Sec. 19a-458a transferred to
Sec. 46a-11b in 1991; P.A. 93-340 amended Subsec. (a) to add school principals, school guidance counselors, school
paraprofessionals, mental health professionals, physician assistants, Connecticut certified substance abuse counselors,
Connecticut certified marital and family therapists, sexual assault counselors and battered women's counselors to list of
persons required to report suspected abuse or neglect, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-63 substituted "person with mental
retardation" for "mentally retarded person"; P.A. 95-289 changed marital and family therapists from "Connecticut certified"
to "licensed"; P.A. 96-186 added Subsec. (g) concerning applicability of section to Office of Protection and Advocacy for
Persons with Disabilities; P.A. 99-102 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting "Connecticut" and adding "licensed or" before
"certified", deleting obsolete reference to osteopathy and to chapter 371 and made a technical change; P.A. 04-12 amended
Subsec. (a) by adding "licensed professional counselor" to list of persons required to report suspected abuse, changing
time frame for making initial report of suspected abuse to not later than seventy-two hours after person suspects or has
reason to believe abuse has occurred and specifying that written report is required not later than five calendar days after
initial report was made; P.A. 05-272 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing "speech pathologist" with "speech and language
pathologist" and by making technical changes.